Protecting Our Kids

This past May, 2018, a 19 year old University of Maryland football player died after running sprints during a team workout. He was disoriented and struggled to stand before he collapsed and was transported to the hospital. Reportedly, his body temperature at the hospital was 106 degrees and he was diagnosed with heatstroke.

Although these tragic stories are rare, we have to ask ourselves, “Are we, as parents, doing the right thing when it comes to protecting our kids from sports?” Everyone want to know how this could happen given everything we know about sports performance.

Pushing Kids

We have a strong belief pushing through pain and struggle is just “tough love” or “building character”. There were times, when I caught myself pushing kids beyond their comfort zone.  I felt sympathy for them. In part because they had painful expressions, but also because it wasn’t fun any more. It was just WORK.

This drive is taught to kids across the country and endorsed by today’s high performance athletic programs. I wonder if we are teaching our kids to recognize their limits and understand their

Effect on Kids

In hindsight, I wish there were parents around that told me, “you are not motivating them, you’re scaring them.” Eventually, I realized this on my own but only because I wasn’t the worst offender.

I watched other coaches rant and rave about players. Then I watched in amazement as parents stood behind the coach and echo the messages of disapproval and disappointment. I could see the grade school kids sulk, ashamed of their performance. Who is really helping these kids? What are they learning?

While they are getting scarred emotionally, all they really want is the satisfaction of getting better and support from the adults they know best. When athletic performance is the only way to achieve that satisfaction, they may put themselves a permanent risk physically and emotionally.

Purpose

Today, we need to focus on protecting our kids. We need to teach kids the relative value of sports performance to the value of life. Pushing your self to get better in sports is awesome for everyone to experience. However, sport is only a metaphor for the lessons on how to have a happy and successful life. Play My Kid is here to help today’s parents make youth sports an experience for everyone which helps kids win the championship of life and the prizes of happiness and success.